Rules of Competition and East-West Integration

Integration of the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) into the European Union (EU) has become more a question of timing than a question of whether it will or should be made. Since one of the objectives of the EU is to establish a system ensuring competition in the internal market is not distorted the question arises if the CEECs can be integrated into such a competitive system. Which rules of competition are appropriate to improve the economic integration of the CEECs and to promote at the same time the enduring transition process? The relationship between competition policy and East-West integration is the general theme of the contributions in this book. One central issue of this volume is the way of integrating the Central and East European countries into the EU and supporting their development by liberalizing trade with the EU. A second issue is the implementation of a market economy in the post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe and in particular the aspect of implementing competition rules at a time when markets are just emerging.The 12 selected papers are organized in three sections: competition policy and integration; competition policy during transition; and competition, trade policy and East-West integration.